Said Harris: “You do not have my permission to record. If you record, we will refer you to prosecutors.”

“Winning the majority isn’t guaranteed. But this son of Brooklyn, who has been in public life for 52 years, is more than favored to win a secret ballot to remain Democratic leader.”

“At age 75 (76 by the time the new Congress convenes in January), Charles Ellis Schumer, an old-school pol who visits all 62 of New York’s counties every year, looks poised to do what very few people do in life — go out on top.”

New York Times: Surprise Democratic donor blitzes Senate races in Republican-leaning states with ads.

Axios: Talarico faces voters, but not Paxton, in CNN town hall.

Said Schwarzenegger: “California is the perfect example of what can be done when people work together and when we don’t look at this as a Republican or as a Democratic issue.”

“Traffic to Truth Social fell more than 30 percent in the year ending in September, according to an analysis by digital intelligence firm Similarweb. The platform averaged about 260,000 daily users last month, down from a peak of 420,000 in June 2025.”

“The El-Sayed campaign is deploying progressives to boost turnout, with Ocasio-Cortez set to hold some events Friday without El-Sayed, including a ‘Latinos for Abdul’ rally in Detroit.”

“The Wiener campaign and its coordinated super PAC, Families for an Affordable San Francisco, are pushing their relationship to legal extremes — sharing staff, a fundraising consultant, a pollster and a headquarters.”

”They aren’t suggesting Republicans will have a good night come Nov. 3 — or that the party will hold the House. But they’re clinging to the possibility that it could be a typically bad midterm year reminiscent of 2022, when polls projected Democrats would be pummeled, only for those predictions to fall short.”

”The conflict centers on Paolo Zampolli, a personal friend of Trump’s and a special envoy at the State Department, and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau… The emails stretch over almost a year and show Zampolli and Landau disagreeing over chains of command as Landau admonishes Zampolli to stick to his remit on cultural issues — but devolve into bitter arguments and unproven allegations.”

The same poll in Iowa finds Rob Sand (D) leading Zach Lahn (R) in the governor’s race, 52% to 45%.

Said Johnson: “It feels like 2024 to me. I’m telling you the polling is not reflecting this. The polling is not letting everyone know what’s really happening.”

”But inside the House Republican Conference, there’s panic, anger and resignation.”

”In conversations with dozens of House GOP lawmakers, aides and operatives, there’s a deep fear of a complete washout on Nov. 3. Is it guaranteed? No. Polls are imperfect and often wrong. But the mood is exceedingly grim.”

“That chat set in motion a massive rescue operation for Republican Ken Paxton funded substantially by Musk, the party’s largest donor, who gave $158 million in September alone.”

”Musk’s rescue gave Paxton’s sleepy campaign new life and showed why the world’s richest person is the X factor in the push to prevent a midterm debacle for President Trump’s party.”

”It also helped Republicans avoid a death-spiral scenario: that propping up Paxton in Texas would force them to drain badly needed resources from other Senate battlegrounds.”

“In a private conversation with one Republican lawmaker, Jordan said he would have kept lawmakers in Washington longer to hold more votes that would be politically challenging for Democrats.”

“The episode is part of a delicate dance Jordan and his allies are engaged in behind the scenes. Publicly, Jordan says he is solely focused on helping Republicans keep the majority and supporting Johnson as speaker. But many House Republicans believe that Jordan is laying the groundwork to run for the top leadership spot if they lose the chamber, according to half a dozen lawmakers and aides.”

Axios: Republicans brace for three-way leader fight if they lose.

“John Kennedy, the Louisiana senator popular on the right for one-liners delivered in a Southern drawl, had just entered the room at a countryside winery and farm north of Detroit. And Rogers quickly gave him the floor.”

“The two-term senator has become one of the most public faces in the upper chamber due in large part to his folksy aphorisms that have been blasted far and wide. He’s become a staple of cable news and social media, where clips of his questioning of individuals before committees frequently go viral.”

“As the midterm elections approach and one of the most expensive races in history gets nastier by the day, the vice president has gone even further, joining the fray with a not-so-subtle joke criticized as homophobic.”

“With less than three weeks until the midterms, deep-pocketed GOP groups are trying to push struggling candidates over the finish line, while President Trump and Vice President JD Vance are crisscrossing the country to shore up Republican support in red areas that seemed virtually unassailable just months ago.”

“Democrats, working to capitalize on Trump’s weak approval ratings and economic concerns in the wake of the war in Iran, have expanded their target map into more Republican-leaning territory.”

Axios: Unexpected House battles pop up deep in Trump country.

“The trend has stretched beyond party lines and political positions. Sometimes incidents stem from a dispute over unfavorable coverage; others from logistics snags or credentialing issues. But clashes between politicians and members of the media appear to have reached a fever pitch.”